PM suggests priorities for maintaining economic growth

Updated: 11:42’ - 07/12/2015

Vietnam must take advantage of growth opportunities as well as overcome difficulties and challenges to keep up with global integration on the basis of accomplished milestones in socio-economic development efforts over the past five years, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the 2015 Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (VDPF) on December 5 in Hanoi.

Dung said that Vietnam aimed to maintain an annual growth rate of 6.5-7 percent during 2015-20 despite such limitations as low productivity, lack of competitiveness and difficulties in attaining sustainable development.

In order to realize this goal, Dung suggested the country prioritize implementation of policies to stabilize the macro economy, restructuring of public investment and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), improvement of management capacity of businesses, and assurance of fair competition.

The Government leader also proposed measures to raise productivity, tighten budget spending, control public debt, enhance the effectiveness of public investment and ensure the national financial security.

Meanwhile, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said that Vietnam should shift its growth focus from labor intensive to technology-based, accelerate the equitization of SOEs while creating a favorable environment for small- and medium-sized enterprises. He also recommended restructuring Vietnam’s agricultural sector toward a large-scale production model.

The International Monetary Fund’s resident representative Jonathan Dunn said that restructuring and equitization of SOEs would help invigorate Vietnam’s economy. He noted that while reducing investment in infrastructure development may help address such issues as budget deficit and rising public debt, Vietnam should pay attention to not compromising the country’s long-term development goals.

Praising Vietnam’s achievements in maintaining economic growth, eradicating poverty and facilitating people’s access to education and health care services, World Bank Country Director in Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa, proposed that in the five years to come the country focus on key areas like productivity, environmental issues, social welfare, government capacity and accountability.

She urged the Vietnamese Government to seek ways to improve its capacity to generate internal revenues, especially in the time when concessional development assistance being phased out, and to ensure that official development assistance funds would be used effectively.

Themed “Toward competitive, inclusive and sustainable growth,” the forum is expected to be a platform for high-level dialogue, facilitate policy discussion between the Vietnamese Government, its development partners, the private sector, local and international civil organizations, national research institutes and other development activists to foster the country’s socio-economic development. – (VNS/VLLF)